Photocomposing machines



| M. MOYROUD 2,930,297

PHOTOCOMPOSING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. I

March 29, 1960 Filed June 27, 1955 L jL Any-0000c Fig. 2

INVENTOR OYROUD ATTORNEYS LOUIS M.

March 29, 1960 L.- M. MOYROUD PHOTOCOMPOSING MACHINES Filed June 27, 1955 3 SheetsSheet 2 Fig. 3

Fig. 4

INVENTOR LOUIS M. MOYROUD ATTORN EYS March 29, 1960 MQYRQUD 2,930,297

PHOTOCOMPOSING MACHINES Filed June 27, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 5

Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Fig. 8

- 84 A or a. \O I 9s xi I 98' Fg. 9 I05 INVENTOR LOUlS M MOYROUD ATTORNEYS nited States Patent C) PHOTOCOMPOSING MACHINES Louis M. Moyroud, West Medford, Mass, assignor to Graphic Arts Research Foundation, Inc, Cambridge, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Application June 27, 1955, Serial No. 518,010

15 Claims. (CI. 95-45) The present invention relates to photocomposing machines and more particularly to character selection and optical equipment for such machines.

Aside from the use of continuously moving character carriers with stop motion photography, the most common type of photocomposing machine that has been suggested involves the use of character bearing slides which may be moved (usually in two coordinates) to bring a selected character on to the optical axis of a projection system. Thus, in a font containing, say, one hundred characters arranged in ten rows and ten columns, it is necessary to move the carrier to one of the one hundred possible positions and then to photograph it. It has been found very diflicult, if not impossible, to position the carrier with SllfilClfillt accuracy for correctly aligned and spaced characters. Furthermore, the large extent of motion required for characters remote from the center limits the speed at which composition can be effected.

The object of the present invention is to provide a shiftable carrier system in which the shifts can be readily effected with high precision.

With this object in view the present invention contemplates the use of a carrier in which only single motions from the center position are made. Thus, in the preferred form of carrier, which is preferably in the form of a fiat glass plate or slide, the plate is accurately positioned for the central character and is arranged to be moved only by a single step in any direction, that is, for example, by one step left or right or by one step up or down. In any position the plate is firmly and accurately positioned by abutments. Furthermore, the motion may be made smooth since the small degree of motion makes it unnecessary to stop and start the plate with excessive accelerations.

A plate of the type described above may be placed in any one of nine positions. To accommodate a large font, the present invention contemplates additional features, namely (1) the addition of other groups of nine characters each to the plate with provision for projecting directly therefrom on to the film in a manner to be described in detail presently, and (2) the provision of a shifting lens system whereby the optical axis may be shifted slightly in the same manner as the character plate (i.e. by the use of fixed abutments) whereby the lens itself may be shifted to any one of nine selected positions. This latter feature may be used with a stationary character plate for selection of any one of nine characters, or it may be combined with a shiftable plate whereby a font of eighty-one characters may be accommodated.

Other features of the invention consist of certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention;

Fig. 1 is a diagram of the optical system;

Fig. 2 is a front view of a character plate;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the plate positioning apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. Sis a semi-diagrammatic view of the mechanism for operating the plate-positioning mechanism;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are diagrams showing different positions of the plate; and

Fig. 9 is a diagram of a modification of a feature of the invention.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises one or more light sources 1. together with beam concentrating devices indicated as condensers C, a character slide or plate P and a focusing carrier F having lenses to be presently described.

As shown in Fig. 2 the preferred slide comprises a rectangular guass plate having two arrays of characters. One array indicated at 10 may comprise lower case characters nd the other array at 12 may comprise upper case characters. Each array comprises nine columns and nine rows, making a total of eighty-one characters, and since this number is larger than may be required for a single alphabet, additional special characters may be used or some of the rows or columns may be omitted. The ,char acters are preferably photographed on the slide in any suitable manner.

Assuming that each array contains its full complement of eighty-one characters, the array is divided into nine groups of nine characters each in the manner indicated in Fig. 2. (Only afew of the actual characters are shown for each array; the positions of the remaining characters are indicated by crosses and dots.) One of the groups 13 of nine characters is shown encircled in the lower righthand corner of the array 10. Each group therefore comprises a central character indicated by a cross and eight other characters arranged around the center, as indicated by dots.

The plate P is positioned in the following manner: It is accurately mounted within a metal frame 14 which, in turn, is mounted on a rigid base frame 16, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The frame 14 is capable of assuming any one of nine positions within the support 16 whereby the center of any one of the groups 13 of either array may be brought on to the optical axis of the focusing system. Thus when the plate P is centrally supported withinthe framelti, the central cross of the array 10 is on the optical axis A (and the central cross of the array 12 is on the optical axis B). Any one of the other eight crosses of the array 10 may be brought on to the axis A by a single motion to the left or right, or a single motion up or down, or a combination of a single horizontal and a single vertical motion.

The frame 14 is normally supported in rigid and precise fashion on the base 16 in the following manner: Secured to the base 16 along two sides thereof are two pairs of bearing blocks 17 and 18. Secured to frame 14 along the two other sides are two similar pairs of bearing blocks 19 and 20. The blocks 17 and 18 are secured to the top surface of the base 16, while the blocks 19 and 20 depend from the under surface of the frame 14.

Considering first the pair 17, each is provided with a journal opening, through which passes a rod 22. Two accurately machined bushings 24 are pinned to the rod 22 and they are received within the journal openings of the blocks. Collars 26 are received on the rod and they are forced outwardly against the blocks 17 by a compression spring 28. The positioning of the bushings 24 on the rod is accurately accomplished so that the inner end of each bushing is flush with the inner surface of its block, or substantially so within a very slight tolerance; as a result the rod 22 is accurately centered, without play,

spanner by the spring-pressed engagement of the collars 26 against the blocks and bushings.

A similar rod 30 is identically mounted for centering with respect to the blocks 18. The'rods 22 and 30, which may be termed the horizontal rods are capable of being moved in left or right directions against the compression of the springs 28, but upon release are again accurately centered in the manner above described by the engagement of the collars 26 against the blocks and bushings.

Rods 32 and 34, which may be termed vertical rods pass through the pairs of blocks 19 and 20, respectively. Each rod is provided with bushings 24', collars 26, and a spring 28' mounted with respect to the blocks in the identical fashion described for the horizontal rods 22 and 30; Thus each vertical rod is normally maintained securely in accurately centered position. Either rod is capable of being moved up or down against the compression of its spring, and upon return is again accurately centered.

At the corners of the assembly the ends of the rods are secured together by being pinned to corner blocks 36, whereby the four rods and four corner blocks constitute a rigid intermediate frame. Upon a lateral motion of the carrier frame 14 relative to the base 16, the intermediate frame moves with the carrier frame, since the rods 22 and 3t slide through the stationary bearing blocks 17 and 18 which are stationary on the base. On the other hand, when the carrier frame 14 is moved up or down, the intermediate frame is held stationary by theblocks 17 and 18, while the carrier frame, with its attached bearing blocks 19 and 2%), slides on the vertical rods 32'and 34. A combination of a lateral and vertical motion results in a diagonal motion of the carrier frame relative to the base.

The sides of the base are each provided with two upstanding abutments 38, 39, 4t and 41 secured thereto in positions to engage the edges of the carrier frame 14 and accurately position it. Thus the abutments 38 and 39 accurately locate the frame 14 for its right and left positions (Fig. 6) and the abutments 40 and 41 locate the frame for up and down positions (Fig. 7). A combined lateral and vertical movement from the center results in corner positioning, as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 8. The determination of position by the abutments is definite and precise.

It will be understood that the terms horizontal and vertical are purely relative and relate to the orientations as shown in the drawings, but will be used throughout with the understanding that they will be broadly interpreted to mean any two-dimensional coordinate motions. v

The means for moving the frame 14 in the manner above described may take various forms. Although solenoids may be used, mechanical actuators are preferred, in order that smooth harmonic motions may be obtained, without tendency to bounce upon contact of the frame 14 with any of the abutments. As shown in Fig. 3, the frame is provided with ears 44 and 46 along the top and one side edge. The preferred mechanical system is shown in semi-diagrammatic form in Fig. 5.

I For vertical motion there are two eccentrics 48 and 50 connected to sliding followers 52 and 54, respectively,

' which in turn are connected by a link 56 pivoted thereto.

A link 60 is centrally pivoted to the link 56 and is connected byaspring 62 with a link 64 connected to a block 66 received in a horizontal slot 68 in the car 44. Upon motion of the eccentric 4-8 the link 56 assumes the position indicated by the dot-and-dash line 56'; thus causing a downward pushing movement to the frame 14, while operation of the eccentric 50 results in moving the link to the position 56", thereby pulling the frame 14 upwardly. Similarly eccentrics 70 and 72 are connected with the side of the frame for left or right motion.

The slot 68 permits lateral motion of the frame, and

the spring 62 allows some play in the mechanical con 4 nections, since the location of the frame is determined solely by the abutments.

The operations thus far described permit selection of any one of nine different positions of the frame 14, whereby if characters are disposed only in the places indicated by the crosses, a complete selection can be effected. However, if an array of eighty-one characters is used as shown at 10 or 12 in Fig. 2, the sliding plate permits selection of only nine out of eighty-one possible characters, and further means are provided to select the desired character from the group of nine selected by the character slide. The preferred means for effecting this additional selection is by horizontal and vertical shifting of the focusing apparatus F. This apparatus comprises a frame 82 mounted for shifting in general in a manner similar to that of the plate P. The plate 82 has two lenses 84 and 86, one being associated with the array 10 and the other with the array 12. The focusing device F is supported on a supporting frame 88 exactly similar to the base 16. The frame 88 has abutments 91) identical with those on the base 16. The frame 82 may be operated by means exactly similar to that shown for the frame 14, whereby the frame 82 may be caused to assume any one of nine precisely determined positions. However, the extent of motion of the frame F is consideraly less than that of the slide P.

As shown in Fig. 2, the plate P is movable in steps of three units, where a unit is defined-as the spacing between adjacent characters on theplate P. Considering one of the lenses, say 84, it is preferably positioned to focus an image of the same size as the character being projected, which means that the lens is spaced from the plate P and also from the image plane by a distance equal to twice the focal length of the lens. When the frame 82 is centrally positioned, the central character of a group of plate P lies on the optical axis. It now the plate 82 is shifted as viewed in Fig. l by an amount equal to one-half the character spacing, then the character above the central character on plate P is projected along the line A to be imaged in exactly the same position as the image of the central character which was projected along the axis A. Therefore, plate P is arranged for movement in steps of three units, and the plats 42 is arranged for movement in steps of one-half unit. It will be observed that the ray A strikes the image plane at a slight angle from the ray A. This is a point which needs to be taken into account in the design of the optical system. It is desirable to keep the angle between A and A as small as possible. For example, if the character spacing on the plate P is 3.5 mm., and a lens of 25 mm. focal length is used, the distance from P to the image plane is 100 mm. The angle between A and A is therefore the angle whose tangent is .035, which is about two degrees. This is well within the limits of satisfactory design of the subsequent elements of the optical system. In the foregoing example, the step shifts of the frame 14 will be three units or 10.5 mm., while the shifts of the lens carrier will be only one-half unit or 1.75 mm.

In order that a character on either array 10 or 12 may be imaged at the same place, two mirrors 96 and 98 are provided, the former being at 45 degrees to the optical axis A and the latter at 45 degrees to the optical axis B. The mirror 93 is mounted for slding motion in guides 100 whereby either the mirror 98 reflects in a manner to turn the optical axis B through degrees as indicated 7 at D or it may be retracted to allow the mirror 96 to turn the optical axis A into the same axis D. A real image of a character from one array or the other is formed at 102. 7

Since the total length of the path from the plate P to the image plane 102 is less for the array 12 than for the array 10, the lens 86 is necessarily of different focal length and is placed in a different position from the lens 84, as indicated in Fig. 1. In either case the lens is placed exactly halfway between the plate and the image as measured along the total path, if the fin-age is to be of the same size as the character, as is preferred. The positionof each lens along the path must be accurate in order that the correct image size will be obtained, but the focal lengths of the lenses are not extremely critical since the one-to-one ratio of object and image size results in the condition of best focus.

An alternative construction for selecting between arrays is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 9. It involves stationary reflectors 96' and 98'. Fig. 9 is taken as if viewed from the image plane back along the axis D. The axes A and B are then superposed. The mirror 96' picks up the cone of rays from the lens 84. The mirror 98' picks up only apart of the cone of rays from the lens 86; preferably the upper edge of mirror 98' comes up to the optical axis. Therefore, only about half of the cone of rays from the lens 86 falls on the mirror 98'. Although all of the rays from lens 84 fall on the mirror 96, only about half of the cone is used, since the other half is blocked by the rear surface of the mirror 98'. To select between the two arrays, individual shutters 105 for the separate lenses are required. The mirrors 96 and 98 should be as close to their corresponding lenses as possible; otherwise unequal illumination of a projected character may occur in the image plane. For this reason, the sliding mirror arrangement, as shown at 98 in Fig. l, is preferred, in spite of the slight additional complication.

A mask or diaphragm 104 having an opening of the dimensions of a single character is preferably provided in the image plane. Thus only a single character can be transmitted to the subsequent optical equipment. A shutter indicated diagrammatically at 166 may be provided at any suitable position, preferably close to the position of the image 102.

The image plane on which the image is focused may comprise the film upon which the typed matter is to be composed. However, subsequent optical elements are preferably employed for the purpose of changing the sizes of the projected characters. Any desired turret mechanism may be used. It is, however, preferred to use a system embodying a convex lens 108 spaced from the image 102 by the focal length of the lens 108. This forms a virtual image at infinity. A turret 110 containing a number of afocal lens systems 112 is provided for changes of size. Any one of the afocal lens systems 112 may be brought into the path of the beam. Since all rays coming from any point of the virtual image at infinity are parallel, they emerge from any afocal lens system in parallel fashion. Each afocal lens system comprises a combination of a concave and convex lens after the manner of a Galilean telescope. It is at this point that the angle between the central A and the inclined ray A must be considered and to that end the lenses 108 and 112 should be of sufficient aperture to pick up the rays.

The use of afocal lens systems in the turret 110 allows all of these lenses to be placed in the same plane. This simplifies the turret construction. However, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, a turret with focal lens systems may be used if desired.

The construction described above lends itself to the application of the sliding reflector system described in the Caldwell Patent No. 2,670,665, since the lens 108 corresponds to the collimating lens of the Caldwell system and the parallel rays therefrom (whether or not subject to magnification thereafter) are picked up by the movable mirror and projection lens system 114 and focused directly on to the film, which is diagrammatically shown at 116.

In actual apparatus the motions of the slide P, the slide F and the mirror 98 are controlled by the coded information stored in the register which may be of any uitable type, preferably similar to that disclosed in the Higonnet and Moyroud Patent No. 2,690,249. Mechanical connections therefrom to the eccentrics and to the mirror 98 are not shown, since so far as the present invention is concerned, the motion may be effected in any suitable manner.

It will be seen that the precision of the present arrangement depends on the fact. that the frames 14 and 82 are precisely located by abutments in all positions. For example, in the central position the frame is centralized by the positioning of the collars 26 against the bearing blocks as abutments, while the fixed abutments 39, etc., determine the shifted positions of the frame. The use of such inaccurate devices as snap detent is avoided.

With a single array, and with single rectilinear movements in two dimensions, only nine selections can be made, but the selection can be increased to 81 by the use of a shifting lens carrier. If fewer selections are required, one-dimensional shifts may suffice, in which case only two sets of bearing blocks and sliding rods need be used, and in that case the corner blocks 36 would not float but would be appropriately secured to the frame 14 or base 16.

Additional selections are possible with multiple arrays, as indicated by the double arrays 10 and 12, and the mirrors 96 and 98. For versatility, different plates P may be substituted. The change of plates may be readily carried out, it being only necessary that suitable locating devices be used to secure the plate precisely in the frame 14.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. In a photocomposing machine, the combination with a plate having a number of characters thereon, a first frame supporting the plate, a base, bearing blocks carried by the said frame, bearing blocks carried by the base, sliding rods received in the bearing block and forming a second frame, spring centralizing means for precisely locating the rods in relation to the bearing blocks as abutments, means for effecting rectilinear shifts of the first frame with respect to the base in single steps but in two dimensions, and fixed abutments on the base for limiting the movement of the first frame to a single step and for precisely locating the first frame in any shifted position.

2. In a photocomposing machine, the combination of a plate having an array of uniformly spaced characters thereon, said characters being divided into groups, a frame for the plate, a lens carrier having a lens to focus a character of a selected group into a precisely determined image position, plate-shifting means for moving the plate in a rectilinear step movement to bring a corresponding character of another group into position to focus an image thereof into said image position, means for effecting a precise rectilinear step motion to the lens carrier to elect a character within a group and focus it into said image position, and fixed abutment means for limiting the movement of the frame to a single step and for precisely determining the original and shifted positions of said plate and lens carrier.

3. In a photocomposing machine, the combination of a plate having an array of characters thereon uniformly spaced in rows and columns, said array being composed of groups of nine characters, a frame for the plate, a lens, a lens carrier, means for accurately positioning the frame and the lens carrier in a central position with the central character of a group on the optical axis of the lens, means determining an image position, means for shifting the frame by rectilinear movements in two dimensions to bring the central character of another group on the optical axis, fixed abutment means for precisely determining the shifted position of the frame, means for effecting precise rectilinear shifts of the lens carrier by amounts less than a unit of character spacing to focus an image of a selected non-central character of a selected group in said image position.

4. In a photocomposing machine, a plate having two separate arrays of characters thereon, an optical system including a lens and a reflector for each array, each lens forming an image of a character in the corresponding ar spa es? 7 ray, the cone of rays forming said image being displaced from the cone formed by the other lens, each reflector being arranged to'reflect the rays from its corresponding lens to a common image position, and array-selecting means to permit the reflected image from one array only to be formed in said position.

5. In a photocomposing machine, a plate having two separate arrays of characters thereon, an optical system including a lens and a reflector for each array, each lens forming an image of a character in the corresponding array, the cone of rays forming said image being displaced from the cone formed by the other lens, each reflector being arranged to reflect the rays from its corresponding lens to a common image position, and array-selecting mean to permit the reflected image from one array only to be formed in said position, said array-selecting means comprising means for moving one of the reflectors into and out of said arrangement for reflecting an image to said position. i

6. In a photocomposing machine, a plate having two separate arrays of characters thereon, an optical system including a lens and a reflector for each array, each lens forming an image of a character in the corresponding array, the cone of rays forming said image being displaced from the cone formed by the other lens, each reflector being arranged to reflect the rays from its corresponding lens to a common image position, and array-selecting means to permit the reflected image from one array only to be formed in said position, said array-selecting means comprising individual shutters for the lenses, the reflectors being disposed in different parts of the cones of rays from the lenses.

7. In a photocomposing machine, a plate having a number of characters thereon, an optical system including a lens, a mounting for the lens, the lens being associated with a group of said characters, the group comprising a primary character and other characters adjacent thereto, said lens mounting being normally in a position such that the optical system determine an optical path to form an image of the primary character at a precise image position, means for moving the lens mounting a predetermined distance transversely of said path to image a selected one of said adjacent characters at substantially the same image position, limit means to restrict movement of the lens mounting to allow imaging of only the characters of said group at said image position, and projection means for projecting rays from said image position to a sensitized sheet, whereby the sheet receives an image of a selected character of the group at the same position of the sheet-irrespective of the character selected.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which the optical system includes a collimating lens to form an image at infinity and the projection means includes a lens to project the rays from the image at infinity to the sensitized sheet.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which the lens is intermediate the plate and the image position.

10. In a photocomposing machine, a plate having a number of characters thereon, an optical system including a plurality of lenses, a lens mounting for the lenses, each lens being associated with a separate group of said characters, each group comprising a primary character and other characters adjacent thereto, the optical sys tem including group-selecting means for selecting between selected by the group-selecting means, means for moving the lens mounting to bring the lenses to positions relative to adjacent characters to form an image of any adjacent character of a selected group to substantially the same image position, limit means to restrict movement of the lens mounting to allow imaging of only the characters of said groups at said image position, and projection means for projecting rays from said image position to a sensitized sheet, whereby the sheet receives an image of a selected character of the group at the same position of the sheet irrespective of the character selected.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 in which the movement of the lens mounting is less than the character spacing.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10 in which the group-selecting means comprises a plurality of mirrors.

13. Apparatus according to claim 10 in which the optical system includes a collimating lens to form an image at infinity and the projection means includes a lens to project the rays from the image at infinity to the sensitized sheet. 7

14. Apparatus according to claim 10 in which the group-selecting means comprises a mirror from each group arranged to determine paths to said image position, and in which the optical system includes a collimating lens to form an image at infinity and the projection means includes a lens to project the rays from the image at infinity to the sensitized sheet.

15. In a photocomposing machine, a plate having a number of characters thereon, an optical system including a lens, the characters on the plate being composed of groups, each having a primary character and other characters adjacent thereto, a plate carrier normally in a position such that the optical system determines an optical path to form an image of the primary character of a group at a precise image position, means for moving the carrier by a distance equal to the separation of pri mary characters of two groups to image a diflerent primary character at the same image position, means for moving the lens to determine optical paths for other characters than the primary characters, and limit means to restrict movements of the plate carrier to the group spacing, limit means to restrict movements of the lens to the spacing of adjacent to primary characters, and projection means to project rays from the image position to a sensitized sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENT )FFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORPECTION Patent N0 2 93O 297 March 29 1960 Louis M.a Moyroud It is hereb$ certified that error appears in the-printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correct-on am that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column .2 line 1'? for "911355" read gla ""5 P 19v for "nd" read and -g column 4 line 43 f "P read plate ----5 line 62 for "slding" read slldlng Signed and sealed this 13th day of September 1960.

( SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents UNITED STATES PATENT )FFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORPECTION Patent N0 2 93O 297 March 29 1960 Louis Mo Moyroud It is hereb$ certified that error appears in the-print specfification of the above numbered patent requiring correc'bLon and that the send Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2 line 17 for "guess" read glass i 19v for "nd" read and column 4 line 43,; f "P read plate line 62 for "slding" read slldlng Signed and sealed this 13th day ef September 1960.

( S EAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE. ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting OH leer Commissioner of Patents 

